Freedom One-Shots
by spotttedpath
Summary: Mini series of one-shots including all the favorite characters from Freedom, and some new ones. Rated for language and themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Dear Readers! spottedpath here! Welcome to my newest story-thing. This will be a collection of one shots stemming from my main story, Freedom. There will be no exact upload schedule and each story will be published as it comes to me. That also means they might not necessarily be in a specific order. For newer readers I will post what chapters of the regular story must be read in order to properly understand these one-shots.**

 **Enjoy!**

This short story takes place after chapter 20.

It's Not Meant To Be

Corporal Dann Robbins strut though the hollow halls, brimming with confidence. He was well prepared. Groomed but not overly so. He'd played out every possibility in his mind. No matter how she reacted, he would have a witty or charming response. He definitely had an edge over the other men in her vicinity. She was surrounded by Privates and Specialists, but her toned military demeanor best fit a man of more experience, and experience he had. As a member of the Team Prime, like her, he worked directly alongside the autobots. So he paid little heed to their intimidating stature. Thus, he had no qualms in walking through the autobot hanger.

He would be ready for whatever she agreed to. Chilled beers were already sitting in his quarters in case she wanted a private setting. Some was also hidden in the human rec room should she agree to a more casual meeting. And should she want something intimate, there was a blanket laid over an outcropping of rocks overlooking the sea. Among the jagged stones was a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. All three settings could sit as long he needed. After all, she may not be immediately available, though he did check her duty roster just to be safe. He was prepared for anything.

One had to be, when asking her out. She was considered untouchable, but Robbins believed he could get to her. Yes, she acted cold towards the men on base, but she had to maintain a tough outlook to survive the pool of testosterone she lived in. All he had to do was honor her grit. And the Corporal was a man who admired strength in a woman, and she had plenty to spare.

Would wouldn't want to be with such a confident and intelligent woman? And she was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Robbins had overheard some of the men pointing out her scars and, as a ranking officer, he quickly dispersed them with various duties which suddenly required attention. Yes, her scars were noticeable, if one looked hard enough. But the fine, pale lines could easily be missed or become entirely invisible in dim lighting.

Robbins himself had a far more significant map of battles across his body. And should she be into scarred men, he would tell her about the large one spanning his chest. It came from the shrapnel of a decepticon's bullet. If, however, she felt ashamed of her own image, he'd assure her of her own beauty and share his understanding and admiration. He would explain that, to him, scars are a sign of everything a person has overcome. That would surely put her at ease, and raise her confidence, should she have any hidden uncertainties.

Robbins rounded the corner to the rec room. She was supposed to be there with Sideswipe. Just a few yards from the entrance, she stood in the middle of the wide, open space. A data pad rested in her hand and she ran a free finger across it as she pointed something out with an air of importance. Kneeling directly over her, with his helm above her shoulder, was Sunstreaker. Not one to notice humans, his attention was entirely fixed on the data pad and whatever she was saying to him.

The man's arrival , however, had been noticed by her. She glanced over to him, no doubt curious of his purpose for being there. Not many soldiers came by this area of the base. With her, came the attention of the mech. His azure optics set on Robbins. So, with a straight back and calm expression, he proceeded to turn around and leave as quickly as possible.

There would be no date tonight.

* * *

 **So, I was wondering... What do you think Erin looks like? I would love to know! All we've really established is that she is female, has blue-grey eyes, and faint scars (where they are openly visible). Any guesses? Feel free to post your ideas in the comments!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, here is another one shot for you guys. This takes place after chapter 25.

Fear Factor

Sideswipe sat, practically bouncing on his seat with excitement. Human movies were so predictable, but nonetheless engrossing. Any second and the ghoul would appear inches from its victim's face.

And, just as he foresaw, a long-faced bluish creature practically materialized, its mouth was agape in a soundless scream. The image cut away to a panicked human practically crawling up the stairs to escape his tormentor. The males never survived these situations.

Sideswipe glanced down to his left. His human companion was leaning somewhat comfortably against the concrete back of the couch. Tucked in around her was the large white comforter he had taken from the Lennox's. It was now practically considered hers and Sideswipe kept it for whenever they would hang out. Rin seemed interested in the movie but never jumped at any of the scares. Honestly, the mech was hoping to see a bit more reaction out of her. The femme seemed so cool all the time, but, in Sideswipe's experience, humans tended to scare more often than not. They even made a holiday dedicated to it!

Such an occasion had recently passed. It was even what inspired Sideswipe to play the best horror movies he could find, even weeks after the special day ended. He couldn't get enough of it. Of course, him wanting to scare the femme was not purely sadistic. There was no harm in being the knightly mech to comfort her and make her feel safe. Or even better, Sunny might step up. That would fall perfectly into his 'get himself, Sunny, and Rin together' master plan.

Sideswipe looked over to his twin, sitting on the other side of Rin, but further away. Sideswipe had purposely sat directly at the edge of the couch to force the two together. Through the bond alone, Sideswipe could tell that Sunny wasn't too affected by the movie. And from what he could see, his yellow brother seemed to be analyzing, likely considering the artistic effects used. This particular movie included almost no computer graphics and required skilled art and set design. Yet another reason why Sideswipe had chosen this film.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Sideswipe's processor. He smiled manically, the combination of his plan with the perfect pranking spree. He would just need some help, and a little motivation.

* * *

"Alright, mechs," Sideswipe started, optics scrutinizing his recruits, "I have a proposal that I think you'll all enjoy."

Mirage folded his arms over his chassis in a gesture he refused to admit came from the humans. "And why would we partake in any of your schemes? Unlike you, I have better things to do than get sent off to the brig."

Wheeljack interjected with a dismal huff, "Listening to opera isn't exactly what I'd call important."

"You wouldn't understand because you aren't cultured." The red mech muttered back.

"Now, let's not make it personal," Que stepped between them. Not a warrior, he shrunk under their gaze. More timidly he added, "Let's just here Sideswipe out."

The silver twin waited for all three mechs to turn back to him. With a confident smile, he delivered his proposal; a contest to see who could scare Rin the most before midnight three days from then. The winner would receive three barrels of his best high grade.

Que readily agreed, already mumbling to himself about whatever invention he would design for the task. Wheeljack was more reluctant. At first he said he did not care about what happened between Rin and the twins. He folded, though, after Sideswipe raised the incentive to five barrels. Mirage sneered at Sideswipe and asked him whether he'd even met the femme. "That human doesn't scare." He claimed. However, he too gave in. The players were set, all Sideswipe had to do was play the game.

* * *

Sideswipe was stalk-still. He'd been waiting nearly four hours for Rin to emerge, but it would be well worth it. He had stayed up all night working on his plan to scare her. Although this was a competition of his own making, he would like to be the victor. Sideswipe had one advantage over the others, he knew Rin well. She wasn't the fearful type, so simply trying to freak her out would not work. Wheeljack had only realized this the night before.

In the rec room, he told a series of interlinking horror stories. Among his audience were Sideswipe's own team, a manically grinning Jazz, and a rather terrified looking Bumblebee, two humans sitting in his lap. After nearly twenty minutes of storytelling, the rec room door slid open, allowing Prowl access. Bumblebee made an odd whirring screech as he grabbed his humans and transformed into his alt-mode. Rin didn't even look over, she was just plainly looking at Wheeljack, waiting for him to continue his story. After that, she walked alone to her barracks, through the night. Never once did she glance over her shoulder or shudder at the eerie night bird calling.

Sideswipe guessed that plan would not amount to much, but it was a good test. Another obstacle to the mission were Rin's observational skills. She always had an eye out for every detail that passed. She analyzed every possible threat. Underestimating that was where Mirage had failed.

Sideswipe had only heard about what happened. As silent as space, the red mech had hidden in the open air and followed Rin as she set out for her nightly run. Through the dark trees and under a clouded sky which blotted out each star, she was followed by an invisible perpetrator. He played audio recordings of scratching noises and distant snarling. The effects bounced off the trees, surrounding the femme in threatening sounds, seeming to close in. Right as they were on top of her, she slowed to a walk, and then stopped. She turned and looked up into the black fronds of the palm trees.

She spoke clearly, breath unaffected by the run, "Will you cut it out, Mirage? It's annoying." Without waiting for a response she continued her run, sans any unwelcomed company.

The key to scaring Rin would be in catching her off guard. It had to be sudden, too quick for her to analyze to situation. Anything too unrealistic would be instantly dismissed. That was the idea Sideswipe had put into his project. Made of wood panels and cardboard, and colored using Sunny's metallic paints, Sideswipe had made a four armed, war torn, red optic decepticon. His puppet was attached to several clear lines, too thin for Rin to see. And the leg joints of his 'con were bendable, so when he dropped it from the roof in front of Rin, it would land like a real 'bot, bending with the force of gravity before straightening up. It stood at only nine feet tall, but it would be enough to evoke a fearful reaction from Rin. If she thought the enemy had suddenly attacked and it was moments from getting to her, the femme had to show some kind of fear.

He was starting to get impatient. It was hard to remain quiet for so long. After what seemed like a vorn of waiting, his target finally emerged. Yanking on the pully system, Sideswipe sent his creation down to land inches from Rin's face. From his angle, he could not see her face, but she stood still for a moment. He smiled thinking he had finally gotten her when she whipped around, eyes narrowed in his direction.

"Sideswipe," She hissed, "what do you think you're doing?"

Deciding to ignore the question, he stepped out from his place of concealment and pouted, "How did you know it was me?"

She crossed her arms, clearly unamused. "The landing was too quiet, you needed to add more weight. Now," she continued, "you wouldn't happen do have anything to do with Wheeljack or Mirage trying to pull similar stunts, would you?"

The mech tried to put on the most innocent smile he could under her intense glaring. "Of course not, I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Oh, really?" she asked in a disbelieving tone. "So you didn't have Wheeljack tell those stories in order to freak me out?"

Quickly, he thought up a defense, "He was trying to scare everyone, it had nothing to do with you specifically."

"He was staring directly at me the entire time."

"Oh." Wheeljack really needed to work on his delivery.

"And," Rin continued, "Mirage followed me around, playing stupid 'haunted' sound effects."

"Was it scary?" he probed curiously.

Her eyes narrowed. "It was irritating." After a moment she added, "This has one of your pranks written all over it. Just drop it, alright. You'll know where you can find me when you're done playing your little game." Quickly, she turned on her heels and marched towards the autobot side of the base, likely intending to see Ironhide.

Distraught with the femme's reaction, Sideswipe decided to follow. Each step of the way he tried a new tactic to get himself back in the feme's good graces. He denied any involvement, then disregarded that and flat out apologized. The mech asked for forgiveness, then offered to make it up to her. He even tried a few charming one-liners, all to no avail. The entire time, she stubbornly marched on, clearly pretending he didn't even exist. She was really good at the silent treatment.

When they reached the main entrance of the hanger, the pair were greeted by an unusually dark room, one with a bluish glow emanating from the walls. Rin marched straight in. Odd sounds bounced around as a mist pooled over the floor. Sideswipe, still focused on his human companion, followed.

His keep optics picked out Que, huddled in a dark corner, holding what appeared to be some kind of game controller.

Back on the ground, an oversized spider jumped from the stacking mist. It towered at Rin's own height and snapped dangerously at her. The femme, however, walked straight through it. Holographic webs appeared to be spun over the entire room. Rin wordlessly climbed the stairs, sticking close to the wall.

In the middle of the scaffolding, stood a terminal which Rin approached. As giant spiders crowded around her, the soldier flipped through a binder holding various small folders. Finding the one she was looking for, the femme grabbed it and locked the binder away again. Just as she turned to leave, a crashing sound emanated through the spider's nest. Both human and mech turned to see the edge of the scaffolding, where an orange glow lit up a smoking generator.

Que jumped from his hiding place and ran to the object. "Primus!" he called as the flames grew over his invention.

Sideswipe' optics grew wide as he dove for Rin. However, before he could reach her, an explosion echoed through the hanger. The scaffolding under the femme's feet shook before crumbling down. In an instant, Sideswipe made eye to optic contact with Rin. Her wide, blue-grey eyes told him everything he needed to know. Before her descent even began, the soldier had frozen with fear, the one kind he never wanted to expose.

Quick as his frame would allow, he shot forward and grabbed his friend before she could drop more than a few feet. The impact in his hard hand audible pulled the breath out of the femme. Curling her against his chassis, the mech jumped back from the fallen scaffolding and watch Que quickly battle the flames into submission.

Before the inventor could turn around, though, Sideswipe transformed and shot out of the hanger. With his processor running at an exabit a second, words just stumbled out of his processor. "Rin, I'm so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't mean for it to go this far." He really didn't. Sideswipe never forgot how scared Rin was of heights and he never wanted to expose her to that fear. In fact, in that moment when he saw Erin realize she was falling, he decided that he would never want to see her afraid again.

"Sideswipe," Rin breathed, trying to calm her beating heart, "I'm fine. And thank you."

She didn't exactly accept his apology, but the mech would have to live with that. His femme was a stubborn one after all.


End file.
